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"Today we celebrate our families, our equality and how far we have come as a community."

July 24, 2011

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(New York, July 24, 2011)—In celebration of the first day same-sex couples can wed in New York, Lambda Legal issued the following statement from Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director of Lambda Legal:

"Today we celebrate our families, our equality and how far we have come as a community. We congratulate same-sex couples across New York who are exchanging vows in their home state. As a longtime New Yorker I can say that any stereotype about jaded New Yorkers does not hold true today—lesbian and gay couples, and so many allies, families and friends are celebrating this momentous day.

"We congratulate the courageous couples we represented in our 2004 marriage lawsuit (Hernandez v. Robles). They worked hard through both litigation and legislative advocacy to reach this day. Two of those couples are marrying in New York today.

"It takes a lot of people to make history. Thank you to our colleagues at Empire State Pride Agenda and Freedom to Marry who formed New Yorkers United for Marriage and all of our allies who fought so hard for this day. We thank Governor Cuomo for his leadership, and we are proud of the state legislators who voted for equality.

"Lambda Legal never gave up fighting in New York for greater recognition of our relationships and families, and we are not giving up in New Jersey either. Just days after the winning vote in New York, we filed our lawsuit seeking marriage equality in New Jersey representing seven same-sex couples and Garden State Equality. New Jersey still treats same-sex couples as inferior to others—it's time to put a stop to that."

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Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.